FOXBOROUGH - After taking a left tackle with their first pick, #4 overall, the Patriots got day two off to an offensive start by nabbing the best pass-protecting running back in a loaded class, TreVeyon Henderson. It came as a surprise to the Ohio State star. He had one Zoom meeting with running back Tony Dews, and doesn't recall ever meeting Mike Vrabel.
"I had no clue that New England was going to be the spot," he told us with a big smile on his face
There's a lot more to Henderson's game than his pass protection. He is a true threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball, whether toting the mail or as a receiver out of the backfield. He averaged 7.1 yards per carry in a backfield-by-committee that he shared with another second-round pick, Quinshon Judkins.
"I'm fast," said Henderson. "I'm explosive. I'm good in one on one matchups. My receiving ability. My blocking, you know, I'm pretty much can do it all."
Henderson has had some durability issues, so the marriage with Judkins proved effective for the National Champions. In New England, he'll join Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson and have a real opportunity to carve out a role as a third-down back before usurping (he'd better at #38 overall) one of the veterans to gain more consistent carries.
"He's really explosive," texted an NFC assistant coach whose team was hoping for Henderson to fall a little further tonight, "but's also***premium*** really tough. The kid pushes the pile forward, even at his size."
Henderson is listed at 5'11", 202 pounds, and nearly a quarter of his touches resulted in gains of 10 or more yards. Yet, he never put the ball on the turf for the Buckeyes. He also had just two drops on 53 targets over the last two seasons.
"It goes beyond what he does when the ball's in his hands," added that coach. "He understands his responsibilities in the passing game and keeps his QB clean. I'm jealous."
I asked Henderson how he's gotten so good at this specific skill.
"Again, developed at Ohio State," he said. "The coaches there, and just competing against some of the best players every day in practice. That helped me out a lot. And so that's something I continue to look to work at and bring on to the league. I know that's very important as a running back, and so, that's something that I got to definitely continue to work at, and making sure I'm staying on top of."
The Pats were the 31st-ranked scoring offense in football last season, averaging just 17 points per game.
